Betcha "poormouth" Sherman would deny this.

March 14, 2008

About 1,500 state retirees make $40,000 plus

Nearly 1,500 retired school teachers and administrators, State Police troopers, judges and state employees draw pensions of more than $40,000 a year, according to figures provided by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board.

Senate Government Organization Chairman Ed Bowman, D-Hancock, provided the data to the Senate Thursday, to show how past Legislatures created massive financial problems for the state by granting overly generous pension benefits.

"I'm sure many of you are going to be as surprised as I was by some of this," he told the Senate.

The report, produced March 7, shows a total of 1,446 people drawing state-paid pensions in excess of $40,000 a year:

Teachers Retirement System, 732 retirees. That includes 52 retirees drawing in excess of $60,000 a year, with the highest pension at $94,960 a year.

State Police Retirement Plan A, 345 retirees. The plan, which was closed to new enrollees in 1994, includes 56 retirees with pensions in excess of $60,000, with a top pension of $61,247 a year.

Public Employees Retirement System, 337 retirees. That includes 35 retirees receiving in excess of $60,000, with the highest pension at $111,444 a year.

Judicial Retirement System. All 32 retirees make in excess of $40,000. In fact, all 32 pensions are above $80,000 a year, with the top four pensioners each drawing $90,750 a year.

"I don't take issue with any of these people taking these kinds of retirements," Bowman said.

He said the blame lies with past Legislatures, which created pension plans with generous benefit options without determining the long-term costs for those benefits.

In the case of TRS and PERS, that includes being able to convert unused sick days into service credit, at a rate of one month's credit for each 10 sick days.

In the case of the State Police Plan A, that includes a base pension equal to 5.5 percent of total career earnings, plus annual 3.75 percent cost of living increases.

Anne Lambright, executive director of the Consolidated Public Retirement Board, confirmed that the board had prepared the lists, as requested by Bowman during a Senate Finance Committee last week.

The printouts list annual gross payments and total service credited for each retiree, but includes no names.

http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200803130873

In the case of TRS and PERS, that includes being able to convert unused sick days into service credit, at a rate of one month's credit for each 10 sick days.

The rate is one month for every 3 days of unused sick leave for single coverage and one month for every three days for family coverage. If you went on the system before 1988 you received fully paid coverage. If after 1988 and before the system was eneded you pay have the premimum.